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HICKORY SMOKE ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE

Jul13

HICKORY SMOKE ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE
with fresh garlic, brown spicy mustard and extra virgin olive oil. A touch of sweet–and WOW!  So easy to make!

Makes 1-⅓ cups

12.3 oz. pkg. Silken type tofu, firm, drained and rinsed (I used organic)
2 peeled whole garlic cloves
1-¼ t. salt, measure accurately
1 T. brown spicy mustard (I used Gulden’s)
½ t. liquid hickory smoke
1 T. dark brown sugar
1 t. rice wine vinegar
2 t. extra virgin olive oil

Place tofu, broken into large chunks, along with garlic and salt in food processor. Process till creamy, pushing down insides of container with spatula.

Add mustard, liquid smoke, brown sugar and rice vinegar. Process again till creamy.

Add olive oil. Process once more, this time till you achieve a whipped consistency like mayonnaise. Transfer to jar and refrigerate till ready to use.

Notes:  You can use this mayonnaise right away or wait till cold when the garlic becomes more prominent.

Use a flavorful extra virgin olive oil. I used Gia Russa. You’re going to love the strong flavors of this special mayonnaise.

Use this A-F Mayo for a dip on an appetizer plate for deep fried veggies or on an antipasto platter with baguette slices, and of course for all types of sandwiches.

Organic Silken type tofu has a slightly different texture than non-organic Silken type tofu. I don’t know the why of it, but it cuts more like a soft ricotta block. I think I might try using it in the manicotti recipe I’ve got on a back burner in my mind.

Animal-Free Barbecue Mayonnaise Spread

Jul13

ANIMAL-FREE BARBECUE MAYONNAISE SPREAD
Spread it like mayonnaise on your burger buns for a tangy, creamy treat with your grilled soy chicken and veggie burgers. Or use it as a salad dressing for the Perfect Caesar Salad!
Makes 4-½ cups

16 oz.  pkg. extra firm, water-packed tofu, drained, rinsed and broken into cubes
2 t. salt
3 T. brown sugar

¾ c. extra virgin olive oil

1-¼ c. Jack Daniel’s Original No. 7 Barbecue Sauce
2 T. spicy brown mustard
2 T. prepared yellow mustard
3 T. Balsamic vinegar
2 T. prepared horseradish
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1 t. powdered ginger
½ t. celery seed
¼ t. ground allspice
½ t. red cayenne pepper

Place tofu, salt and brown sugar in food processor and process till smooth, pushing down insides of container with spatula.

Add olive oil and process for 1 minute till creamy.

Add remaining ingredients and process again for 1 minute till whipped.

Transfer to jar(s) and refrigerate overnight for best flavor results.

Notes: Sweet, hot, tart and smokey! Jack Daniel’s works beautifully with this mayonnaise. Experiment with others. The Original No. 7 is my favorite.

Quick and easy!

Refer to Salad Section for PERFECT CAESAR SALAD using ANIMAL-FREE BARBECUE MAYONNAISE SPREAD.

SHARON’S ANIMAL-FREE TARTAR SAUCE

Jul13

SHARON’S ANIMAL-FREE TARTAR SAUCE
Use on any veggie sandwich or burger, or as a dip for fried veggies.  You’ll love it. Lemon zest makes it pop!  Move over McDonald’s. No cruelty in My MAC (Mainstream Animal-Free Cooking) Sauce! Tastes better too!
Makes 2-⅔ cups

12.3 oz. pkg. firm Silken-type tofu
1-½ t. salt

½ c. plain soy sour cream, I used Toffutti brand
½ t. garlic powder
½ t. onion powder
½ t. mild paprika
½ t. dry mustard
¼ t. ground allspice
⅛ t. red cayenne pepper
1 T. rice wine vinegar
⅓ c. diced sweet onion

3 T. olive oil or extra virgin olive oil (don’t use a thin oil)

½ c. dill pickle relish; drain in wire mesh strainer, pat with spoon to remove excess liquid (you want it wet, not dry, but not dripping); measure out ⅓ c.

⅓ c. additional finely chopped sweet onion
2 T. juice of fresh lemon
1 t. grated lemon rind (zest)
salt to taste

Place tofu and salt in food processor and process till smooth, scraping down insides of container with spatula.

Add soy sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dry mustard, allspice, cayenne pepper, rice vinegar and sweet onion. Process again till smooth and all onion is pulverized to juice.

Next add olive oil. Process 1 minute till whipped, then transfer to mixing bowl.

Add additional onion, relish, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir well to evenly distribute. Salt to taste.

Pack into jar and refrigerate several hours. Overnight it comes full flavor and texture.

Notes: The Perfect Tartar Sauce for all your tartar sauce needs.

The first onion we want to process into the sauce, the additional onion we use as texture added at the end. Don’t process the pickle, we want that as texture also.

Experiment with sweet relish, a little ketchup and orange juice and zest to make a sweeter sauce, omitting the dill relish and lemon juice and zest.

Try an impromptu potato salad, cubed potato mixed with Animal-Free Tartar Sauce and topped with green scallion or sweet roasted peppers.

The sauce keeps as long as the codes on the animal-free dairy products. Don’t worry it won’t last as long as the codes.

HOMEMADE ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE

Jul3

HOMEMADE ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE

The first recipe in this Book Of Animal-Free Sandwich Section is Animal-Free Mayonnasie. On any sandwich that contains lettuce, mayo is essential, so let’s make some.

Makes 1&½ cups

12.3 ounce pkg. extra firm Mori-Nu Silken-Type tofu, rinsed

¼ cup white vinegar

2 t. salt

1 T. sugar

1 t. dry mustard

½ t. mild paprika

¼ cup prepared yellow mustard

¼ cup olive oil (plain, not extra virgin)

Break tofu as you place it into a blender container.

Add vinegar and salt. Blend till well-mixed, shaking the blender container back and forth, front to back, side to side on the counter.

Add sugar, dry mustard, paprika, prepared yellow mustard and olive oil. Continue to blend, while rocking unit till it blends uniformly and it becomes very smooth. Transfer to jar with lid and refrigerate till ready to use on all your favorite sandwiches.

Notes: If you have a high powered blender you won’t need to do the rocking part. But most people don’t have one of those. Do not use food processor. It won’t achieve what we’re looking for here–a mayonnaise consistency, like the egg mayonnaise in the store. Do not add extra liquid–work it. Adding more liquid will produce a dressing and we want a mayonnaise. Voila! You have your own animal-free mayonnaise. Comes out perfectly every time.

Now that you have the basics, experiment with different flavors: curry, basil, tarragon etc.

My motivation for developing my own mayonnaise comes from Vegenaise–the greatest animal-free mayo on the planet to date. Yet, where I live, Vegenaise is not readily available, and where it is available it’s a bit expensive. Maybe because it has a shelf life that some grocers don’t want to deal with, or maybe Vegenaise isn’t working hard enough to get the product to everyone.

Frankly I don’t care what their motivation or lack of motivation is. I want animal-free mayo when I want it–so I found away to please myself. Now all I need from any grocer is tofu.

Do not use water-packed tofu for this particular mayonnaise. You want Silken-Type.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE

Apr13

SUN-DRIED TOMATO ANIMAL-FREE MAYONNAISE

A creamy spread with sun-dried tomatoes and walnuts.Great for veggie and animal-free burger sandwiches! Use in place of mayonnaise!

Makes 1&1/2 cups

1 oz. sun-dried tomatoes

Place sun-dried tomatoes in bowl and cover with heated water. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Drain well.

1/3 c. walnut halves

1 t. salt

1/2 t. dried basil

3 fresh garlic cloves, peeled

12.3 oz. pkg. firm Silken-type tofu, drained

1 T. prepared yellow mustard

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 t. juice of fresh lemon

salt to taste

Place sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts, salt, basil and garlic in food processor. Process till mealy.

Add tofu to processor, breaking it into chunks as you add it. Process till well-mixed.

Add mustard, olive oil and lemon juice. Process till whipped, 3-4 minutes, pushing down insides with spatula, every 45 seconds or so.

Salt to taste, blend again. Transfer to covered jar and refrigerate till ready to use.

Notes: With this mayonnaise, you’ll have to stir in jar before using, but only after it’s been in the refrigerator for a few days. A tasty spread for all veggie and animal-free burger sandwiches. Don’t use marinated tomatoes; we want the tomato before the oil gets to it, in order to produce a creamier texture.

Be sure to process long enough. To keep the processor from over-heating, stop every minute for ten seconds.